Christmas message from His Grace Archbishop Mar Amel Nona - Diocese of St. Thomas the Apostle

God Is Not Afraid of Human Weakness

 

Dear faithful of the Diocese of St Thomas the Apostle in Australia and New Zealand,

As we celebrate the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ this year, 2025, we are invited to reflect on the paradoxes of Christmas, those mysteries that lead us to deeply go into the love of God revealed for us in Jesus Christ throughout our life journey.

 

On the Nativity Night,

God did not come into the world in a frightened power, nor did He descend in the splendour of kings, or in the noise of armies. Rather, He was born as a child, weak, silent, and in need for human care.

In this humble birth, the greatest message of Christmas God is not afraid of human weakness.

 

If God were afraid of our weakness, He would not have chosen a cold manger, nor the poverty of a family, nor the fragility of a child. Yet He chose all this to say to each one of us today: I do not flee from your weakness, rather, I come to it.

So often, we ourselves are ashamed of our weakness: ashamed of our failures, our wounds, our tears, and even our sins. At times, we convince ourselves that we must first become strong, first become worthy, and only then approach God.

 

But through His birth, our Lord overturns this way of thinking completely and says to us:

''Come to Me, all you who labour and are burdened, and I will give you rest'' (Mattll :28).

 

Jesus was not born in a palace, so that the poor would never be afraid to draw near to Him.

He was not born in power, so that the weak would never be afraid of His presence. He was not born in glory, so that sinners would never be afraid to look upon Him.

Rather, He was born in poverty to say to every human being: Your place is with Me.

 

Perhaps today there are those who feel:

weak in their faith,

weary from life,

burdened by fear,

or wounded in heart.

 

At Christmas, the Lord does not reproach you for your weakness. He gently places His hand upon your shoulder and says in silence: ''I am with you-in your weakness before your strength.''

God does not wait for us to become perfect before entering our lives. He desires to be born in our hearts exactly as they are today, with their poverty, their limits, and their weakness. For it is there that His grace is at work.

At the end this Holy Night, perhaps not everything in our lives will change immediately. But it is enough that peace is born in the heart, it is enough that we believe that God is not afraid of our weakness but loves us within it.

 

And in the silence of the Night of Jesus' Birth, let us pray to Him:

''Come, 0 Lord ... as You were born in a manger, I ask that You be born today in my weakness, that I may know You more deeply in my life and remain firmly united to You with strength throughout my journey. '' Amen.

 

Archbishop Amel Nona

Bishop of St. Thomas the Apostle Chaldean Diocese in Australia and New Zealand Sydney- Christmas 2025